Mornings are more than just the start of another day at The Living Vine, a Christian maternity home that provides housing to as many as 12 pregnant women at a time.

Mornings mean "family" breakfasts, Proverbs of the day and - of course - morning sickness.

While the daily activities of the home seem most apparent, it is the less-publicized quiet times and camaraderie among residents that Kalie Kolorytoski, 24, remembers of her stay at The Living Vine in 2004, while she was pregnant with her son, Owen, now 5.

"It was just figuring out who you are as a person. It makes you realize what you need to get done for yourself and for your child," she said.

But offering education, counseling and 24-hour care to expectant mothers comes with a significant price tag. The Living Vine, 535 E. 54th St., is a nonprofit organization operating on an annual budget funded entirely through donations, said Debbie Hanna, the house administrator.

The maternity home was just one of 13 charitable and nonprofit organizations to receive funding this spring through the Stewart Huston Charitable Trust. The trust, based in Pennsylvania, distributes money in Savannah and in Coatesville, Pa.

The trust's namesake, Stewart Huston, resided in Pennsylvania but loved Savannah and had many ties to the city, according to a news release. His mother and his wife both were raised in Savannah, and his uncle was mayor in the early 1920s.

Savannah-based organizations receive 50 percent of the trust's yearly funding. But with the economic downturn, funds this year will be limited, said Executive Director Scott Huston.

"We've had to tighten our spending in these tough times," he said.

There will be $350,000 available for Savannah throughout 2009, compared with $500,000 in previous years. With less funding available, the trust's board of directors tends to support organizations it has funded in the past, Huston said.

When choosing recipient organizations, the board looks for accountability and a clear need for funding, he said. But the Huston trust does not aim to be an organization's sole source of funding.

"There's not a lot of fluff in what we're doing, not a lot of feel-good projects. We are trying to look at critical needs - health and basic human needs," Huston said.

The Living Vine, which received $10,000 this spring and another $15,000 last year, has enjoyed a continuous relationship with the Huston trust.

The spring grant will fund another woman's six-month stay at the home, which includes transportation to and from appointments, education and housing costs.

"It does guarantee that they have everything they need while they are here," Hanna said. "I tell the girls, 'This is a college scholarship; soak it up. If you have a question about anything, just ask.' "

But having a baby and moving out of the maternity home is not the end of the road, Hanna said.

For Kolorytoski, moving out meant focusing on her next goals. She took a year off to be with her son, then enrolled in the nursing program at Columbus Technical College.

"I just got to know myself and figured out what I wanted to do in life," she said.

Other distributions

The Stewart Huston Charitable Trust also distributed spring 2009 funds to these 12 organizations throughout the Savannah area: